Generator with dual cycloconverter for 120/240 VAC operation

ABSTRACT

A generator system in accordance with the invention has two modes of operation, such as 120 VAC and 240/120 VAC modes of operation. The generator system has a permanent magnet generator with two independent sets of windings that each generate a three phase AC voltage. One three phase AC voltage is coupled to a first or master cycloconverter and the second three phase AC voltage is coupled to a second or slave cycloconverter. Live outputs of each cycloconverter are coupled to each other through a switch, such as a relay and neutral outputs of each cycloconverter are coupled to ground. A controller controls the cycloconverters to provide a first voltage, illustratively 120 VAC, across their respective outputs having the same amplitude. When in the 120 VAC mode, the switch across the live outputs of the first and second cycloconverters is closed, shorting the live outputs of the first and second cycloconverters together and the controller operates the first and second cycloconverters so their output voltages are in phase with each other. When in the 240/120 VAC mode, the switch across the live outputs of the first and second cycloconverters is open and the controller operates the first and second cycloconverters so that their output voltages are 180 degrees out of phase. The permanent magnet generator has rotor position sensors that are used by a brushless DC motor drive to drive the permanent magnet generator as a brushless DC motor to start the engine of the generator system and also to develop cosine wave information for use in controlling the cycloconverters.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/440,959, filed on Jan. 17, 2003.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to portable generators, and moreparticularly, a portable generator using cycloconverters that has a 120VAC mode of operation and a 240/120 VAC mode of operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Present day portable generators typically make use of a synchronousalternator or cycloconverter for providing the desired power output,which is typically 120 VAC or 240 VAC. Important considerations for anyportable generator are:

-   -   Voltage regulation;    -   Dual voltage output capability;    -   Idle voltage and frequency;    -   Frequency tolerance;    -   Harmonic distortion:        -   Induction motor operation        -   Charger operation    -   Grounding configuration;    -   4-blade (120–240 volt) twist-lock compatibility;    -   Response to load changes; and    -   Size and weight.

With regard to idle voltage and frequency, it is far easier to provide120 volts and 60 Hz at idle using electronic solutions (i.e., invertertechnology) than it is with synchronous alternators. However, sufficientvoltage “head room” is still required. This higher voltage requires moreturns in the alternator coils resulting in an increased coil resistanceand reduced system efficiency.

Harmonic distortion present in the output waveform of a portablegenerator is another important consideration that must be addressed.While waveform purity is of little importance to constant speeduniversal motor-powered portable power tools, it is an importantconsideration when running induction motors and chargers. Inductionmotors will run on distorted waveforms, but the harmonic content of theinput will be converted to heat, not torque. The extra heating from theharmonics must be quantified if a inverter topology which produces adistorted waveform is to be implemented. A sine wave pulse widthmodulated (PWM) inverter will produce excellent waveforms with only somehigh frequency noise, but they are likely to require full H-bridgeswhich, traditionally, have not been easily adaptable to the NorthAmerican grounding convention and the 4-blade twist-lock wiringconvention.

With regard to grounding configurations, in North America, the standardgrounding convention requires that one side (neutral) of each 120 voltcircuit is grounded. This means that 240 volt circuits have floatinggrounds.

Still another important consideration is 4-blade (120–240 volt) twistlock compatibility. This convention requires four wires: ground,neutral, 120 volt line 1 and 120 volt line 2. Each 120 volt circuit isconnected between a 120 volt line and neutral. The 240 volt circuit isconnected between the 120 volt line 1 and the 120 volt line 2.

The ability of a generator to respond to load changes is still anotherimportant consideration. All inverter topologies will provide a fasterresponse to load changes than a synchronous alternator, due to the largefield inductance used by a synchronous alternator.

Concerning size and weight, it would also be desirable to make use ofinverter topology because virtually any inverter topology will providesize and weight benefits over that of a synchronous alternator. However,trying to produce sine waves from a two half bridge circuit may requirelarge capacitors that would reduce the benefit of volume reductionprovided by the inverter topology.

Cycloconverters have been used in generator systems to convert the ACvoltage generated by the generator to the desired AC output voltage.Electrical systems using cycloconverters typically have an AC voltagesource to the cycloconverters that is fairly stiff (low sourceimpedance). Consequently, the AC phasing information for commutation ofthe SCRs of the cycloconverters can be directly derived from the 3-phaseAC voltages provided to the cycloconverters. Suitable filtering isnecessary to remove the commutation notches introduced by SCRswitching/commutation. However, permanent magnet generators provide avery soft AC source in that they have significant series reactance. Thispresents two problems for control of the SCRs of the cycloconverter in agenerator systems using a permanent magnet generator. First, the ACvoltage waveforms are significantly disturbed by the switching of theSCRs of the cycloconverter and thus would require significant filtering.Second, the reactance of the permanent magnet generator introduces asignificant phase shift between the back-emf voltage waveforms of thepermanent magnet generator (which cannot be measured) and the ACvoltages at the outputs of the permanent magnet generator (terminalvoltages), especially as the generator system is loaded. This loaddependent phase shift can't be eliminated by a simple filter.

Generators having two isolated 120 VAC outputs that can be switchedbetween 120 VAC parallel connection mode (120 VAC mode) to a 240 VACseries connection mode (240/120 VAC mode) would typically use amulti-pole switch, as shown in FIG. 10. With reference to FIG. 10,generator system 1000 is shown as having two isolated 120 VAC sources1002, 1004, which could be cycloconverters such as cycloconverters 42,44 described below. Generator system 1000 also has a 120 VAC output,shown illustratively as resistance 1006, a 240 VAC output, shownillustratively as resistance 1008, and a switch 1010 that switchesgenerator system 1000 between the 120 VAC parallel connected mode wheresources 1002 and 1004 are connected in parallel and the 240 VAC seriesconnected mode where sources 1002 and 1004 are connected in series.

Positive output 1014 of 120 VAC source 1004 is connected to ground andto one side of 120 VAC output 1006. Negative output 1018 of 120 VACsource 1004 is coupled to the other side of 120 VAC output 1006 and toone side of 240 VAC output 1008. Switch 1010 switches positive output1012 of 120 VAC source 1002 and negative output 1016 of 120 VAC source1002 to switch 120 VAC sources 1002, 1004 between the 120 VAC parallelconnected mode and the 240/120 VAC series connected mode as describedbelow.

Switch 1010 is a multi-pole switch, such as a double pole relay, asshown in FIG. 10. When in the parallel connected 120 VAC mode, positiveoutput 1012 of 120 VAC source 1002 is connected to positive output 1014of 120 VAC source 1004, and thus to ground, by switch 1010 and negativeoutputs 1016, 1018 of sources 1002, 1004, respectively are connectedtogether by switch 1010. 120 VAC is provided at 120 VAC output 1006 bythe parallel connected 120 VAC sources 1002, 1004.

In the 240 VAC series connected mode, positive output 1012 of 120 VACsource 1002 is connected through switch 1010 to the other side of 240VAC output 1008, with the first side of 240 VAC output 1008 connected tothe negative output 1018 of 120 VAC source 1004 as described above. Thenegative output 1016 of 120 VAC source 1002 is connected through switch1010 to ground. 120 VAC is provided at 120 VAC output 1006 by 120 VACsource 1004 and 240 VAC is provided at 240 VAC output 1008 by the seriesconnected 120 VAC sources 1002, 1004.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A generator system in accordance with the invention has at least twomodes of operation where a first output voltage is provided in the firstmode and the first output voltage and a second output voltage isprovided in the second mode. The second output voltage is twice thefirst output voltage. In an embodiment, the first output voltage isnominally 120 VAC and the second output voltage is nominally 240 VAC.The generator system has a permanent magnet generator with twoindependent sets of windings that each generate a three phase ACvoltage. One three phase AC voltage is coupled to a first or mastercycloconverter and the second three phase AC voltage is coupled to asecond or slave cycloconverter. Live outputs of the cycloconverters arecoupled to each other through a switch, such as a relay, and neutraloutputs of the cycloconverters are coupled to ground. A controllercontrols the cycloconverters to provide the first output voltage,illustratively 120 VAC, across their respective live and neutraloutputs. When in the first mode, such as the 120 VAC mode, the switchacross the live outputs of the first and second cycloconverters isclosed, shorting the live outputs of the first and secondcycloconverters together and the controller operates the first andsecond cycloconverters so that their output voltages are in-phase witheach other. When in the second mode, such as the 240/120 VAC mode, theswitch across the live outputs of the first and second cycloconvertersis open and the controller operates the first and second cycloconvertersso that their output voltages are 180 degrees out of phase. Thisprovides the first output voltage, illustratively 120 VAC, across thelive and neutral outputs of each of the first and second cycloconvertersand the second output voltage that is twice the first output voltage,illustratively 240 VAC, across the live outputs of the first and secondcycloconverters. In an aspect of the invention, the switch is asingle-pole switch such as a single pole relay.

In an aspect of the invention, the cycloconverters are phase-controlledby the controller and naturally commutated.

In an aspect of the invention, the permanent magnet generator has rotorposition sensors that sense the position of a rotor of the permanentmagnet generator as it rotates. Outputs of these rotor position sensorsare input to the controller which uses them to generate control waveinformation that it uses to control the cycloconverters, illustrativelycosine control waves

In an aspect of the invention, the cycloconverters have a positive bankand a negative bank of naturally commutated switching devices such assilicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs). In an aspect of the invention,each SCR includes an SCR/opto-SCR combination having an SCR and anopto-SCR where the opto-SCR is coupled to a gate of the SCR and used totrigger or control the SCR.

In an aspect of the invention, voltages across the SCRs of the positiveand negative bank of each of the cycloconverters are sensed and used todetermine when the respective cycloconverter bank is in a zero currentcondition.

In an aspect of the invention, changeover from a positive to a negativebank of a cycloconverter is initiated by a bandpass filter ofinstantaneous current of the cycloconverter, changeover being initiatedwhen the bandpass filtered instantaneous current transitions about zero,such as by falling within a predetermined range about zero.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is simplified schematic of a generator system in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified power system diagram of the generator system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a timing diagram for control of a cycloconverter of thegenerator system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a simplified schematic of circuit logic for initiatingchangeover between a positive and negative bank of a cycloconverter ofthe generator system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a simplified schematic of circuit logic for voltage control ofthe generator system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the development of cosine waveinformation from outputs of rotor position sensors of a permanent magnetgenerator of the generator system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic of an SCR/opto-SCR combination used ina cycloconverter of the generator system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a schematic of a voltage sensing circuit that senses thevoltages across the SCRs of a cycloconverter of the generator system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a simplified schematic of a brushless DC motor drive circuitthat can be used in starting the generator system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 10 is a simplified schematic of a prior art multi-pole switchingarrangement for switching two 120 VAC sources between parallel andseries connected modes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

Referring to FIG. 1, a generator system 10, switchable between first andsecond modes of operation is shown schematically. In the first mode, thegenerator system 10 produces a first output voltage and in the secondmode, the generator system 10 produces two output voltages, the firstoutput voltage and a second output voltage that is twice the firstoutput voltage. In an embodiment, the first output voltage is nominally120 VAC and the second output voltage is 240 VAC and the first mode isthen alternatively referred to as the 120 VAC mode and the second modeis alternatively referred to as the 240/120 VAC mode. In thisembodiment, the first output voltage is referred to as being nominally120 VAC to mean that it is the standard AC voltage used in the UnitedStates for light appliances and devices, such as lamps, power tools,etc. The reference to the second output voltage as being nominally 240VAC is so that it is twice the nominal first output voltage of 120 VAC.

Generator 10 has an engine 12, illustratively an internal combustionengine, that drives a generator 14, which is illustratively a permanentmagnet generator and which will be referred to herein as permanentmagnet generator 14. Permanent magnet generator 14 has a rotor 15 withpermanent magnets and a stator with two independent/isolated sets ofthree-phase windings 200, 202 (FIG. 2). Permanent magnet generator 14also includes rotor position sensors 16, 18, 20, illustratively halleffect transducers, that sense the position of a rotor (not shown) ofpermanent magnet generator every 120 degrees electrical. The hall effecttransducers are illustratively the hall effect transducers provided aspart of permanent magnet generator 14 to enable it to be driven as abrushless DC motor to start engine 12, as described below and asdescribed in Starter System for Portable Internal Combustion EngineElectric Generators Using a Portable Universal Battery Pack, U.S. Ser.No. 60/386,904, filed Jun. 6, 2002 (now, U.S. Ser. No. 10/453,988 filedJun. 4, 2003), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference. Outputs of the rotor position sensors 16, 18, 20are coupled to inputs of a controller, such as a digital signalprocessor (DSP) 28.

Permanent magnet generator 14 generates two separate three-phasevoltages at first set of outputs 30, 32, 34 and second set of outputs36, 38, 40. The outputs 30, 32, 34 at which the first three phasevoltage is generated are coupled to a first (Master) AC power converter42 and the second set of outputs 36, 38, 40 are coupled to a second(Slave) AC power converter 44. In an embodiment of the invention, ACpower converters 42 and 44 are cycloconverters and will be referred toherein as cycloconverters. Each cycloconverter 42, 44 is controlled byDSP 28 to convert the respective three phase voltage coupled to it to anindependent and isolated 120 VAC 60 Hz voltage at their respectiveoutlets 56, 58. It should be understood that a controller other than adigital signal processor can be used, such as a microcontroller. Itshould also be understood that permanent magnet generator 14, DSP 28 andcycloconverters 42, 44 can be configured to produce other voltages andfrequencies, 115 VAC or 50 Hz for example, for markets outside the U.S.,without significant hardware changes. Cycloconverters 42, 44 and theircontrol by DSP 28 will be described in more detail below. Also, in anembodiment, a DSP 28 is provided for each of cycloconverters 42, 44.

A switch 46, illustratively a single-pole relay, is coupled across alive output 48 of first cycloconverter 42 and a live output 50 ofcycloconverter 44. Neutral outputs 52, 54 of first and secondcycloconverters 42, 44, respectively, are coupled to ground. Live output48 of first cycloconverter 42 is coupled to a live output 55 of outlet56 and a neutral output 52 of first cycloconverter 42 is coupled to aneutral output 57 of outlet 56. Live output 54 of second cycloconverter44 is coupled to a live output 59 of outlet 58 and neutral output 50 ofsecond cycloconverter 44 is coupled to a neutral output 61 of outlet 58.

This configuration provides for two modes of operation for generatorsystem 10, 120 VAC and 240/120 VAC in an embodiment of the invention. Inthe 120 VAC mode, switch 46 is closed, paralleling the live outputs 48,50 of first and second cycloconverters 42, 44, providing increasedcurrent output at outlets 56, 58 of generator system 10 compared to the240/120 VAC mode. In the 240/120 VAC mode, first and secondcycloconverters 42, 44 are controlled by DSP 28 so that the voltagesoutput by the cycloconverters 42, 44 across their respective liveoutputs 48, 50 to respective neutral outputs 52, 54 are 180 degrees outof phase with each other to enable single point series connection for240 VAC operation. This provides 240 VAC at outlet 60 of generatorsystem 10 and 120 VAC at each of outlets 56, 58. In the 120 VAC mode,first and second cycloconverters 42, 44 are controlled by DSP 28 so thatthe voltages output by the cycloconverters 42, 44 are in-phase with eachother. Having the voltages output by first and second cycloconverters42, 44 in-phase with each other ensures that no circulating currentflows between first and second cycloconverters 42, 44 and thus allowsload sharing between them provided that the output voltages of each offirst and second cycloconverters 42, 44 have the same amplitude. In the120 VAC mode, 120 VAC is provided at the outlets 56, 58 of first andsecond cycloconverters 42, 44, respectively, and outlet 60 is shorted byswitch 46. Operating cycloconverters 42, 44 in this manner allows switch46 to be a single-pole switch, such as a single pole relay.

It should be understood that this technique of operating the two sourcesof 120 VAC in phase when they are connected in parallel for the 120 VACmode and 180 degrees out of phase when they are connected in series forthe 240/120 VAC mode can be used with 120 VAC sources having AC powerconverters other than cycloconverters, such as (by way of example andnot of limitation) with inverter circuits or H-Bridge circuits asdisclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 10/077219 filed Feb. 15, 2002 for“Alternator/Inverter with Dual H-Bridge” and in U.S. Ser. No. 10/077386filed Feb. 15, 2002 for “Alternator/Inverter with Dual H-Bridge andAutomatic Voltage Regulation”. The disclosures of these two applicationsare incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

FIG. 2 shows in simplified form an overall power system diagram ofgenerator system 10. Permanent magnet generator 14 has, as mentioned,two independent sets of three phase windings, windings 200, 202.Illustratively, permanent magnet generator 14 has a nominal 106 VAC RMSphase voltage (to neutral/star point), 240 Hz electrical at the shaft orrotor, with a phase inductance of 0.7 milli-Henry. It should beunderstood that permanent magnet generator 14 could be configured sothat nominal output values are different. The windings of three phasewindings 200 are identified as A₁, B₁ and C₁ and the windings of threephase windings 202 are identified as A₂, B₂ and C₂. Cycloconverter 42illustratively has two banks of switching devices, positive bank 204 andnegative bank 206 and cycloconverter 44 also illustratively has apositive bank 208 and a negative bank 210 of switching devices. In anaspect of the invention, the switching devices are naturally commutatedswitching devices, such as silicon controlled rectifiers. But it shouldbe understood that other types of naturally commutated switching devicescan be used. Each bank 204, 206, 208, 210 illustratively has six siliconcontrolled rectifiers. The positive and negative banks 204, 206, 208,210 of first and second cycloconverters 42, 44, respectively, form anon-circulating current 6-pulse system. Non-circulating refers to themode of operation where the positive and negative banks of eachcycloconverter 42, 44 do not conduct at the same time. That is, when thecurrent out of a cycloconverter 42, 44 is positive, only the positivebank 204, 208, respectively, of the cycloconverter 42, 44 conducts andwhen the current out of a cycloconverter 42, 44 is negative, only thenegative bank 206, 210, respectively, of the cycloconverter 42, 44conducts. As such, the positive and negative banks 204 and 206 ofcycloconverter 42 are operated so that they do not conduct at the sametime and the positive and negative banks, 208, 210 of cycloconverter 44are also operated so that they do not conduct at the same time.

Cycloconverters 42, 44 each have an output filter capacitor 212, 214coupled across their respective 120 VAC outputs, shown representativelyas resistances 216, 218. The 240 VAC output is shown representatively asresistance 220. Illustratively, filter capacitors 212, 214 are 40microfarad capacitors and 120 VAC outputs 216, 218 of cycloconverters42, 44 each have a 3.6 Kw capacity when permanent magnet generator 14has the nominal output values referenced above.

When generator system 10 is in the 120 VAC mode, DSP 28 controlscycloconverter 42, 44 so that their output voltages are in phase witheach other and when generator system 10 is in the 240/120 VAC mode,cycloconverters 42, 44 are controlled so that their output voltages are180 degrees out of phase. Thus, only the operation of cycloconverter 42will be described. In this regard, the silicon controlled rectifiers ofthe positive bank 204 of cycloconverter 42 are identified as AT+, BT+,CT+, AB+, BB+ and CB+. The silicon controlled rectifiers of the negativebank 206 of cycloconverter 42 are identified as AT−, BT−, CT−, AB−, BB−and CB−.

Turning to FIGS. 2 and 3, the control of cycloconverter 42 is described.Cycloconverter 42 is controlled by DSP 28 using conventional cosinecontrol. The inputs to DSP 28 are the three-phase electrical outputs 30,32, 34 of windings A₁, B₁ and C₁ of permanent magnet generator 14, theback-emf voltage waveforms of the windings of A₁, B₁ and C₁ of permanentmagnet generator 14, and the output AC voltage and current ofcycloconverter 42 as output to filter capacitor 212 and 120 VAC output216, and the load in terms of impedance and power factor. Since theback-emf voltage waveforms of permanent magnet generator 14 are notpractically measurable, in an aspect of the invention, signals fromrotor position sensors 16, 18 and 20 are used by DSP 28 to simulate theback-emf voltage waveforms and develop the control wave information(illustratively, cosine control waves) for firing control of the siliconcontrolled rectifiers of positive and negative banks 204, 206 ofcycloconverter 42, as described in more detail below. (The termswaveforms and waves are used interchangeably herein. Also, it should beunderstood that a wave may be digital data representative of the wave aswell as an analog signal.)

Each SCR is controlled in terms of the turn-on instant, but turn-off iscontrolled by turning on another SCR that reverse biases the first SCR,a process known as natural commutation. The SCRs of positive bank 204can be turned on only when the output current from the SCR's AT−, BT−,CT−, AT+, BT+ and CT+ is positive. With reference to the timing diagramof FIG. 3, the three SCRs identified as AT+, BT+ and CT+ are fired in acontinuing sequence (AT+, BT+, CT+ and starting the sequence again withAT+) by a 3-bit ring counter implemented in DSP 28 as long as the outputcurrent from the SCR's AT−, BT−, CT−, AT+, BT+ and CT+ of cycloconverter42 is positive. The three SCRs identified as AB+, BB+ and CB+ are alsofired in a perpetual sequence by a second 3-bit ring counter implementedin DSP 28 as long as the output current from the SCR's AT−, BT−, CT−,AT+, BT+ and CT+ of cycloconverter 42 is positive. The transitionssequencing the two 3-bit ring counters implemented in DSP 28 are thecomparison points comparing a reference voltage wave 300 (AT+, BT+, CT+)and an inverse reference voltage wave 302 (AB+, BB+, CB+) of referencevoltage wave 300, both generated by DSP 28, to the corresponding cosinewave of the back-emf voltages of windings A₁, B₁ and C₁ of permanentmagnet generator 14. For purposes of clarity, FIG. 3 shows only a fullcycle of the cosine wave 304 used to control AT+, which is the cosinewave of the winding A₁ voltage (i.e., the inverted B₁ voltage), andpartial cycles of the cosine waves 306, 308 used to control BT+ and CT+.As shown in FIG. 3, when positive bank 204 is enabled, AT+ is triggeredwhen the cosine wave 304 becomes positive with respect to referencevoltage wave 300. BT+ is then triggered when the cosine wave 306 becomespositive with respect to reference voltage wave 300. BT+ turning onreverse biases AT+, turning it off. Similarly, CT+ is then triggeredwhen cosine wave 308 becomes positive with respect to reference voltagewave 300 and reverse biases BT+, turning it off. AB+, BB+ and CB+ arecomparably controlled. The turn-on sequence for one electrical cycle ofpermanent magnet generator 14 where the output current from the SCR'sAT−, BT−, CT−, AT+, BT+ and CT+ of cycloconverter 42 is positive is AT+,CB+, BT+, AB+, CT+ and BB+. In this regard, AT+, BT+ and CT+ each stayon until they are reversed biased by the next AT+, BT+ and CT+ turningon. Each of AB+, BB+ and CB+ similarly stay on until they are reversebiased by the next AB+, BB+ and CB+ turning on. Thus, there is alwaysone of AT+, BT+ and CT+ on and one of AB+, BB+ and CB+ on at the sametime when positive bank 204 is enabled.

Negative bank 206 of cycloconverter 42 is controlled in a similararrangement. The SCRs of negative bank 206 can be turned-on only if theoutput current from the SCR's AT−, BT−, CT−, AT+, BT+ and CT+ ofcycloconverter 42 is negative. The turn-on sequence for one electricalcycle where the output current from the SCR's AT−, BT−, CT−, AT+, BT+and CT+ of cycloconverter 42 is negative is AT−, CB−, BT−, AB−, CT− andBB−.

Illustratively, comparators are implemented in DSP 28 that compare thecosine wave information for the cosine waves, such as cosine waves 304,306, 308, to the reference voltage wave information for the referencevoltage waves, such as reference voltage waves 300, 302, and, along withthe 3-bit ring counters implemented in DSP 28, provide the abovedescribed control of positive and negative banks 204, 206 ofcycloconverter 42. Comparable control of cycloconverter 44 is alsoimplemented in DSP 28.

As mentioned, signals from rotor position sensors 16, 18 and 20 are usedby DSP 28 to simulate the back-emf voltage waveforms and develop thecosine wave information for firing control of the SCRs of positive andnegative banks 204, 206 of cycloconverter 42 and also for positive andnegative banks 208, 210 of cycloconverter 44. A typical brushless DCmotor drive for low speed, high torque applications (used to startengine 12 of generator system 10 in an aspect of the invention describedbelow) requires three hall effect transducers installed within the motorto sense the position of the rotor. These hall effect transducersprovide on/off logic signals which provide the phase relationship forthe 3-phase excitation of the motor. Normally, each hall effecttransducer provides a transition (e.g., logic 0 to 1) at the zero degreeelectrical and 180 degree electrical (e.g., logic 1 to 0 transition) ofthe motor for each of the three phase line voltages. Therefore, theoutput of each hall effect transducer is displaced 120 degrees from theoutputs of the other two hall effect transducers so that the three halleffect transducers provide six transitions per rotation of the rotor ofpermanent magnet generator 14.

The signals generated by the hall effect transducers that illustrativelyare rotor position sensors 16, 18, 20, can directly represent thephasing of the output voltages of permanent magnet generator 14 whenpermanent magnet generator 14 is driven by engine 12. Rotor positionsensors 16, 18, 20 will sometimes be referred to hereinafter as halleffect transducers 16, 18, 20. Importantly, the signals generated byhall effect transducers 16, 18, 20 directly represent the back-emfvoltage phasing of permanent magnet generator 14 and this information isused to control the commutation of the SCRs in cycloconverters 42, 44.Using hall effect transducers 16, 18, 20 in this manner eliminates theneed for filtering with zero phase shift using terminal voltageinformation (the voltages at the outputs 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40) ofpermanent magnet generator 14, and eliminates the need to compute theback-emf voltages from the actual terminal voltages of permanent magnetgenerator 14 (i.e., computation of the internal phase shift of permanentmagnet generator 14 caused by load current and internal reactance).Moreover, since hall effect transducers 16, 18, 20 are illustrativelythe hall effect transducers used for starting engine 12 when using abrushless DC motor drive to drive permanent magnet generator 14, noadditional hall effect transducers are needed.

Turning to FIG. 6, logic that is illustratively used in DSP 28 todevelop the cosine control wave information for use in controlling thecommutation of the SCRs of cycloconverters 42, 44 is described. Theperiods of each hall effect transducer 16, 18, 20 are measured (usingrising edges only) at 600, 602, 604 to establish a period (“Hallperiod”). This Hall period is updated on each rising edge of a halleffect transducer 16, 18, 20. At 606, the Hall period is divided by 84to establish a period for a timer so that the timer will have 84overflows per Hall period, i.e., time out 84 times per Hall period. At608, each timer overflow resets the timer to zero and increments acounter (“Hall period counter”) by one.

The value of the Hall period counter, the value of the Hall periodcounter plus an offset of 28 (120 degrees electrical) and the value ofthe Hall period counter plus an offset of 56 (240 degrees electrical)are then used as pointers into a sine wave look-up table having 84entries. The three entries in this sine wave look-up table pointed to bythese pointers are read from the sine wave look-up table at 616 and at618 these three values become the cosine values that are compared to thereference voltage wave, such as reference voltage wave 300, to controlthe commutation of the SCRs of cycloconverter 42. Cycloconverter 44 issimilarly controlled.

With reference to FIG. 4, bank selection and changeover control inaccordance with an aspect of the invention is described. As mentioned,for each cycloconverter 42, 44, only its positive bank 204, 208 ornegative bank 206, 210 can be on at any given time. Bank selection andchangeover control of cycloconverters 42, 44 is done identically, so itwill be described with reference to cycloconverter 42.

Assuming that the output voltage at output 216 of cycloconverter 42 is asine wave with a frequency of 60 Hz, positive and negative banks 204,206 are each on for one-half period of the 60 Hz cycle. Which of thepositive and negative banks 204, 206 that is conducting is determined bythe polarity of the output current from the SCR's AT−, BT−, CT−, AT+,BT+ and CT+, which for the purposes of this discussion is assumed to beat the same 60 Hz frequency but with a power factor dependent on load.

The selection of positive and negative banks 204, 206 (i.e., which oneis enabled so that its SCRs can be triggered to conduct and which one isdisabled so that its SCRs cannot be triggered to conduct) is determinedfrom the measured instantaneous output current of cycloconverter 42 tofilter capacitor 212 and output 216. This instantaneous current isfiltered, illustratively by bandpass filter 400, to eliminate currentripple and to ensure that the fundamental 60 Hz component of the signaloutput by bandpass filter 400 does not have any phase-shift relative tothe instantaneous current. Illustratively, bandpass filter 400 is a2-pole 60 Hz bandpass filter having a Q of 2. The filtered currentsignal output from bandpass filter 400 is then input to a comparator402. Comparator 402 is illustratively a hysteresis comparator,illustratively having a negative hysteresis with switching levels ofeither +0.1 A or −0.1 A. The output of comparator 402 determines whetherthe fundamental 60 Hz current to filter capacitor 212 and output 216 ofcycloconverter 42 is positive or negative. Comparator 402 switches frompositive to negative when the filtered current signal output by bandpassfilter 400 drops below +0.1 A and switches from negative to positivewhen the filter current signal output by bandpass filter 400 increasesabove −0.1 A. When comparator 402 switches from positive to negative,DSP 28 disables positive bank 204 of cycloconverter 42 and, following adelay of 100 microseconds after an actual output current zero isdetected, enables negative bank 206 of cycloconverter 42. As such, nomore trigger pulses are fed to the gate terminals of the SCRs inpositive bank 204. However, the SCRs in the positive bank 204 that areconducting when this transition occurs will continue to conduct until atrue current zero occurs. At this point, they will be reversed biasedand turn off. Conversely, when comparator 402 switches from negative topositive, DSP 28 disables negative bank 206 of cycloconverter 42, and,following a delay of 100 microseconds after an actual output currentzero is detected, enables positive bank 204. As was the case withpositive bank 204, the SCRs in negative bank 206 that are conductingwhen this transition occurs will continue to conduct until a truecurrent zero occurs, at which time they are reversed biased and turnoff.

The true current zero condition may be sensed by comparator 404.Comparator 404 is illustratively a two-window comparator that determineswhen the actual output current (not the filtered fundamental current)drops within a window of +/−25 mA. Comparator 404 illustratively hasfirst and second comparators 406, 408 having their outputs coupled toinputs of an AND gate 410. A positive input of comparator 406 is coupledto a +25 mA reference and a negative input of comparator 408 coupled toa −25 mA reference. The current output to filter capacitor 212 andoutput 216 of cycloconverter is coupled to a negative input ofcomparator 406 and to a positive input of comparator 408. When theoutput current falls within the +/−25 mA window, the outputs of bothcomparators 406, 408 will be positive, resulting in the output of ANDgate 410 being positive, indicating a true current zero. In an aspect ofthe invention described below, the true current zero condition is sensedindirectly by sensing the voltages across the SCRs of cycloconverters42, 44.

Once this true zero current condition is detected, a delay is imposed,illustratively, 100 microseconds, to ensure that the SCRs presentlyconducting have enough time to turn off. After this delay, change overfrom positive bank 204 to negative bank 206 (or vice-versa) occurs.

It should be understood that the above bank changeover control logic isillustratively implemented in DSP 28. However, it should also beunderstood that all or portions of the above bank changeover controlcould be implemented using discrete components, such as using voltagesensing circuit 800 to indirectly determine the true current zerocondition, as described below.

For a generator system, the output voltage is a sinusoidal waveformhaving the voltage and frequency required by of the country where it isused, for example, 120 VAC, 60 Hz in the United States. A scaledequivalent(s) of this waveform, for example, waves 300, 302 in FIG. 3,is used in the control of the SCRs of cycloconverter 42 (andcycloconverter 44). However, some form of output voltage control isneeded owing to the fact that the voltage generated by generator system10 (FIG. 1) is directly proportional to the speed at which the rotor ofpermanent magnet generator 14 is spinning and that the load on permanentmagnet generator 14 causes a voltage drop across a phase reactance ofpermanent magnet generator 14.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative voltage control implemented in DSP 28. Theinstantaneous output voltage (Vout) of generator system 10 is measuredand input into DSP 28. The absolute value of Vout is then filtered and,after being suitably scaled, is used as the feedback term in aproportional feedback loop. The filter that filters the absolute valueof Vout is illustratively a 2-pole low pass filter with a cut-offfrequency of 3.2 Hz and a Q of 0.25. The output of this filter is anaverage value of the absolute value of Vout with the 60 Hz/120 Hzcomponents removed. The scaling factor used to scale the output of thisfilter is illustratively 0.00926 such that a value of 1.0 corresponds toa sinusoidal AC output voltage of 120 VAC RMS.

The input reference, Vref, to the feedback loop is the average value ofthe reference voltage wave generated by DSP 28 and is assigned a valueof 1.0, such as reference voltage wave 300 (FIG. 3), which correspondsto a 120 VAC 60 Hz sine wave. The output (Vc) of the proportionalfeedback loop is used to directly control the effective magnitude of thecosine waves for SCR firing control, such as cosine waves 304, 306, 308(FIG. 3). The proportional gain used is 16, where a proportional outputat Vc of 1.0 produces the maximum output voltage at the output ofcycloconverters 42, 44. A proportional output value at Vc of 2.0produces one-half the maximum output voltage at the output ofcycloconverter 42. Therefore, the proportional feedback loop of FIG. 5is set up such that as the output voltage of cycloconverter 42 dropsbelow 120 VAC, the output of the proportional gain stage of theproportional feedback loop of FIG. 5 reduces, causing the output voltageof cycloconverter 42 to increase, providing output voltage control forgenerator system 10. Comparable control is provided for cycloconverter44.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, as discussed, switch 46 is illustratively arelay and is illustratively controlled by a switch 62 on a front panel(not shown) of generator system 10. Switch 62 illustratively provides aninput signal to DSP 28 that in turn controls switch 46.

Operating cycloconverters 42, 44 in series or parallel doesn't presentany particular problems. However, the transition between series andparallel operation requires careful timing control.

DSP 28 controls the transition of generator system 10 between series(240/120 VAC) and parallel (120 VAC) operation. When switch 62 is thrownto switch generator system 10 from series (240/120 VAC) operation toparallel (120 VAC) operation, the outputs of one of first and secondcycloconverters 42, 44 are disabled (i.e., all its SCRs are no longerturned on). After an appropriate delay, illustratively 3.5 electrical 60Hz or 50 Hz cycles, that cycloconverter 42, 44 is re-enabled in phasewith respect to the output voltage of the other cycloconverter 42, 44.Switch 46 is then closed.

The transition from parallel (120 VAC) to series (240/120 VAC) operationis controlled by DSP 28 in similar fashion. When switch 62 is thrown toswitch generator system 10 from parallel to series operation, switch 46is immediately opened. The outputs of first and second cycloconverters42, 44 are both disabled (all their SCRs are no longer turned on). Afteran appropriate delay, illustratively 3.5 electrical 60 Hz or 50 Hzcycles, first and second cycloconverters are re-enabled with 180 degreesphase shift between their outputs.

In an embodiment of the invention, a DSP 28 is provided to controlcycloconverter 42 and a second DSP 28 is provided to controlcycloconverter 44 with the two DSPs 28 linked via a high speed 2-wayisolated serial communication link to handle the control between thefirst and second cycloconverters 42, 44. Illustratively, the DSP 28 forfirst cycloconverter 42 defines the phasing of the 60 Hz output waveformto the DSP 28 for the second cycloconverter 44 and also provides outputvoltage and current measurement information to the DSP 28 for the secondcycloconverter 44 to keep first cycloconverter 42 and secondcycloconverter 44 synchronized. Each DSP 28 may illustratively be aTMS320LC2402A available from Texas Instruments, Inc. of Dallas, Tex.

In aspect of the invention, the true instantaneous zero currentcondition at the output of each cycloconverter 42, 44 may be detectedindirectly by monitoring the three phase voltages output by permanentmagnet generator 14 to the first and second outputs of the respectivecycloconverters 42, 44. This is done identically for bothcycloconverters 42, 44, so it will be described with reference tocycloconverter 42. The voltages from the outputs 30, 32, 34, ofpermanent magnet generator 14 to the live and neutral outputs 48, 52 ofcycloconverter 42 are sensed by sensing the voltages across each of theSCRs of the positive and negative banks 204, 206 of cycloconverter 42.When the voltage across any of the SCRs of cycloconverter 42 is lessthan a certain absolute value, such as ±8 to 9 volts, this means thatthe SCR is conducting and the output current of the cycloconverter ofwhich that SCR is part is not zero. When there is more than +8 to +9volts or less than −8 to −9 volts across all the SCRs of cycloconverters42, it means that all the SCRs of cycloconverter 42 are blocking and theoutput of cycloconverter 42 is at the zero current condition. This zerocurrent condition is processed into a digital signal and input into DSP28 where it is used for bank changeover control as discussed above. FIG.8 is a schematic of such a voltage sensing circuit 800 that senses thevoltages across the SCRs of cycloconverter 42. Voltage sensing circuit800 includes voltage sensing circuit 802 that senses the voltages acrossthe SCRs identified as AT+, AT−, BT+, BT−, CT+ and CT− of positive andnegative banks 204, 206 of cycloconverter 42 and voltage sensing circuit804 that senses the voltages across the SCRs identified as AB+, AB−,BB+, BB−, CB+ and CB− of positive and negative banks 204, 206 ofcycloconverter 42.

In an aspect of the invention, the SCRs of positive and negative banks204, 206 of cycloconverter 42 and 208, 210 of cycloconverter 44 areillustratively SCR/opto-SCR combinations. With reference to FIG. 7, aSCR/opto-SCR combination 700 is shown for the SCR of positive bank 204of cycloconverter 42 identified as AT+. SCR/opto-SCR combination 700 hasan SCR 702 having its anode coupled to output 30 of permanent magnetgenerator 14 (FIG. 1) and its cathode coupled to output 48 ofcycloconverter 42 (FIG. 1). A gate of SCR 702 is coupled to the cathodeof an opto-SCR 704. An anode of opto-SCR 704 is coupled through aresistor 706 to the anode of SCR 702. A gate light emitting diode 708 ofopto-SCR 704 is coupled to an output of DSP 28. SCR 702 isillustratively a S6016R available from Teccor Electronics of Irving,Tex., and opto-SCR 704 is illustratively a TLP741J available fromToshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. of Irvine, Calif.

FIG. 9 is a simplified schematic drawing of an aspect of the inventionwhere a brushless DC drive circuit 900 is used in combination withgenerator system 10 (FIG. 1) to drive permanent magnet generator 14 forstarting engine 12 (FIG. 1), similar to that which is described in theabove referenced U.S. Ser. No. 60/077219 “Starter System for PortableInternal Combustion Engine electric Generators Using a PortableUniversal Battery Pack.” Circuit 900 is a low voltage DC to AC 3-phaseinverter that incorporates a Brushless DC/Permanent magnet generator(BLDC/PMG) starter control 902, and is powered directly by a battery,illustratively, a universal battery pack 903, such as a universalbattery pack from the DEWALT XR PLUS (Extended Run Time) universalbattery pack line. DC drive circuit 900 includes a power stage 904 thatis electrically connectable to permanent magnet generator 14 through a3-pole relay switch 906. Power stage 904 includes six identical powerswitching devices 908 a–908 f coupled across DC bus lines, or rails, 910and 912. Power switching devices 908 a and 908 b are connected in seriesbetween bus lines 910 and 912 having a center node 914 electricallyconnected to one pole of relay 906. Power switching devices 908 c and908 d are connected in series between bus lines 910 and 912 having acenter node 916 electrically connected to a second pole of relay 906.Power switching devices 908 e and 908 f are similarly connected inseries between bus lines 910 and 912 having a center node 918electrically connected to a third pole of relay 906. Six diodes 920a–920 f are respectively connected in parallel with switching devices908 a–908 f, between bus lines 910 and 912. Switching devices 908 a–908f may comprise a variety of suitable power switching components, forexample field effect transistors (FET's), insulated gate bi-polartransistors (IGBTs), or metal oxide silicon field effect transistors(MOSFET's).

The hall effect transducers 16, 18, 20 of permanent magnet generator 14are connected to inputs of BLDC/PMG starter control 902. Additionally,DC drive circuit 250 includes a momentary starter switch 922 thatcontrols the flow of current from universal battery pack 903 to BLDC/PMGstarter control 902.

In operation, engine 12 is initially at rest. Engine 12 is started by auser closing momentary start switch 922. The BLDC/PMG starter control902 will then become energized by universal battery pack 903. Providedthe hall effect transducers 16, 18, 20 indicate that either the speed ofengine 12 or the speed of permanent magnet generator 14 is less than apredetermined value, e.g. 500 rpm, 3-pole relay switch 906 will beenergized by BLDC/PMG starter control 902, thereby connecting the3-phase power stage 904 to permanent magnet generator 14. Utilizinginformation from hall effect transducers 16, 18, 20, BLDC/PMG startercontrol 902 turns the switching devices 908 a–908 f on and off toprovide torque to engine 12 using electronic commutation of the firstset 200 of 3-phase windings (or a tapped winding from such) withinpermanent magnet generator 14. Engine 12 will be turned by permanentmagnet generator 14, driven as a motor in a “Motor Mode” by power stage904 under control of BLDC/PMG starter control 902, to accelerate engine12 to a speed at which engine 12 starts. Once engine 12 has started,permanent magnet generator 14 is driven past a predetermined maximumspeed, e.g. 500 rpm, and 3-pole relay switch 906 will then bede-energized by BLDC/PMG starter control 902, thereby disconnectingpower stage 904 from permanent magnet generator 14. Disconnecting powerstage 904 avoids overdriving universal battery pack 903 and supplyingexcessive voltage to switching devices 908 a–908 f. Once the startingoperation is complete, momentary start switch 922 is opened and BLDC/PMGstarter control 902 ceases turning switching devices 908 a–908 f on andoff.

BLDC/PMG starter control 902 can be microprocessor based to simplify theelectronic circuitry and to provide additional control features.Additional control features may include setting a maximum cranking time,e.g. five seconds, to avoid damage if momentary start switch 922 is heldclosed for too long, or not allowing starting when universal batterypack 903 does not have sufficient voltage to turn or start engine 12.Further control features provided by a microprocessor based BLDC/PMGstarter control 902 include speed detection and control of 3-pole relayswitch 906 to avoid overdriving universal battery pack 903 and powerstage 904, or setting an upper starting speed of permanent magnetgenerator 14 regardless of the voltage of universal battery pack 903 byutilizing pulse width modulation control of switching devices 908 a–908f above a minimum speed.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A generator system having at least first and second modes, thegenerator system producing a first alternating current output voltagewhen in the first mode and producing the first alternating currentoutput voltage and a second alternating current output voltage when inthe second mode, the second output voltage being twice the first outputvoltage, comprising: first and second voltage sources each having anoutput at which they produce the first output voltage; and a switchcoupling the outputs of the first and second voltage sources in parallelwhen the switch is in a first position and in series when the switch isin a second position, the first output voltage produced at the outputsof the first and second voltage sources when the switch is in the firstposition and the second output voltage produced across the seriescoupled outputs of the first and second voltage sources when the switchis in the second position with the first output voltage also produced atthe outputs of the first and second voltage sources when the switch isin the second position.
 2. The generator system of claim 1 wherein thecurrent available at the first output voltage when the outputs of firstand second voltage source are coupled in parallel is greater than thecurrent available at the first output voltage when the outputs of thefirst and second voltage sources are coupled in series.
 3. The generatorsystem of claim 1 and further including a controller coupled to thefirst and second voltage sources, the controller operating the first andsecond voltage sources so that their first output voltages are in phasewhen the switch is in the first position and one-hundred and eightydegrees out of phase when the switch is in the second position.
 4. Thegenerator system of claim 3 wherein the controller includes a firstcontroller for controlling the first voltage source and a secondcontroller for controlling the second voltage source.
 5. The generatorsystem of claim 1 wherein the first and second voltage sources eachinclude a generator coupled to an AC power converter having an outputthat provides the output of that first and second voltage source.
 6. Thegenerator system of claim 5 wherein a single generator having first andsecond sets of windings provides the generators of the first and secondvoltage sources, the first set of windings coupled to the AC powerconverter of the first voltage source to provide the generator of thefirst voltage source and the second set of windings coupled to the ACpower converter of the second voltage source to provide the generator ofthe second voltage source.
 7. The generator system of claim 6 whereinthe AC power converters of the first and second voltage sources includecycloconverters.
 8. The generator system of claim 7 and furtherincluding a controller coupled to the cycloconverters of the first andsecond voltage sources, the controller operating the cycloconverters ofthe first and second voltage sources so that they are in phase when theswitch is in the first position and one-hundred and eighty degrees outof phase when the switch is in the second position.
 9. The generatorsystem of claim 8 wherein the controller operates the cycloconvertersusing cosine control.
 10. The generator system of claim 9 wherein thegenerator includes at least one rotor position sensor that senses theposition of a rotor of the generator and generates a signal indicativeof the position of the rotor.
 11. The generator system of claim 10wherein the controller uses the rotor position signal to develop controlwaves which it uses to control the cycloconverters.
 12. The generatorsystem of claim 9 wherein the generator includes rotor position sensorsthat generate signals indicative of the position of the rotor that aredisplaced one-hundred and twenty degrees from each other.
 13. Thegenerator system of claim 12 wherein the controller uses the rotorposition signals to develop control waves which it uses to control thecycloconverters.
 14. The generator system of claim 13 wherein eachcycloconverter includes a positive and a negative bank of naturallycommutated switching devices.
 15. The generator system of claim 14wherein the controller generates a reference wave and controls thecycloconverters by generating firing signals for the naturallycommutated switching devices based on comparisons of the control wavesto the reference wave.
 16. The generator system of claim 15 wherein thenaturally commutated switching devices include silicon controlledrectifiers.
 17. The generator system of claim 15 wherein each naturallycommutated switching devices includes a silicon controlledrectifier/opto-silicon controlled rectifier combination.
 18. Thegenerator system of claim 15 wherein the first and second generators arethree-phase generators with each of the first and second sets ofwindings having at least one winding for each phase.
 19. The generatorsystem of claim 10 wherein the generator includes an engine and abrushless DC motor drive circuit coupled to at least one set of thegenerator windings for driving the generator as a brushless DC motor tostart the engine, the rotor position sensor coupled to a brushless DCmotor controller of the brushless DC motor drive circuit.
 20. Thegenerator system of claim 19 and further including a portable universalbattery pack coupled to the brushless DC motor drive circuit thatprovides DC power to the brushless DC motor drive circuit.
 21. Thegenerator system of claim 10 wherein the rotor position sensor includesa hall effect transducer.
 22. The generator system of claim 10 whereinthe controller simulates back emf voltage waveforms of the generatorusing the rotor position signal and develops control waves from the backemf voltage waveforms which it uses to control the cycloconverters. 23.The generator system of claim 12 wherein the generator includes anengine and a brushless DC motor drive circuit coupled to at least oneset of the generator windings for driving the generator as a brushlessDC motor to start the engine, the rotor position sensors coupled to abrushless DC motor controller of the brushless DC motor drive circuit.24. The generator system of claim 23 wherein the rotor position sensorsinclude hall effect transducers.
 25. The generator system of claim 23and further including a portable universal battery pack coupled to thebrushless DC motor drive circuit that provides DC power to the brushlessDC motor drive circuit.
 26. The generator system of claim 12 wherein therotor position sensors include hall effect transducers.
 27. Thegenerator system of claim 12 wherein the controller simulates back emfvoltage waveforms of the generator using the rotor position signals anddevelops control waves from the back emf voltage waveforms which it usesto control the cycloconverters.
 28. The generator system of claim 14wherein the controller operates the positive and negative banks ofnaturally commutated switching devices of each cycloconverter in anon-circulating mode, the controller enabling one of the positive andnegative banks and disabling the other of the positive and negativebanks of each cycloconverter based on the instantaneous output currentof that cycloconverter.
 29. The generator system of claim 28 wherein thecontroller disables the positive bank of each of the cycloconverterswhen the instantaneous output current of that cycloconverter transitionsfrom positive to negative, and then enables the negative bank of thatcycloconverter only after a true zero current condition at the output ofthat cycloconverter occurs, the controller further disabling thenegative bank of each of the cycloconverters when the instantaneousoutput current of that cycloconverter transitions from negative topositive and then enables the negative bank of that cycloconverter onlyafter a true zero current condition at the output of that cycloconverteroccurs.
 30. The generator system of claim 29 wherein for eachcycloconverter the true zero current condition at the output of thatcycloconverter is determined by a comparator determining that actualoutput current of that cycloconverter is between first and secondreference levels.
 31. The generator system of claim 30 wherein the firstand second reference levels are +25 mA and −25 mA.
 32. The generatorsystem of claim 29 wherein for each cycloconverter the controllerdetermines that the true zero current condition at the output of thatcycloconverter occurs by sensing that the positive and negative banks ofthat cycloconverter are non-conducting.
 33. The generator system ofclaim 32 wherein the controller sensing that the positive and negativebanks of one of the cycloconverters are non-conducting includes sensingthat the voltage across each of the naturally commutated switchingdevices of the positive and negative banks of that cycloconverter isabove a predetermined level.
 34. The generator system of claim 29 andfurther including a bandpass filter for each cycloconverter forfiltering the instantaneous output current of that cycloconverter toreduce current ripple and ensure that a signal output by the bandpassfilter at a fundamental frequency does not have any phase-shift relativeto the instantaneous output current of that cycloconverter, the signaloutput by the bandpass filter coupled to an input of a comparator thatgenerates a signal indicative of whether the instantaneous outputcurrent transitioned from positive to negative or from negative topositive.
 35. The generator system of claim 34 wherein the fundamentalfrequency is 60 Hz.
 36. The generator system of claim 1 wherein theswitch includes a single pole switch.
 37. The generator system of claim36 wherein the outputs of the first and second voltage sources each havelive and neutral outputs, the single pole switch being one single polerelay with the single pole of the single pole relay coupled across thelive output of the first voltage source and the live output of thesecond voltage source.
 38. The generator system of claim 1 wherein thefirst output voltage is nominally 120 VAC and the second output voltageis nominally 240 VAC.
 39. A generator system, comprising: an ACgenerator having an output coupled to a cycloconverter, thecycloconverter having a positive bank of naturally commutated switchingdevices and a negative bank of naturally commutated switching devices; acontroller coupled to the naturally commutated switching devices of thepositive and negative banks; a rotor position sensor for sensing theposition of a rotor of the generator and generating a signal indicativeof the position of the rotor, the rotor position sensor coupled to thecontroller; and the controller using the rotor position signal todevelop control waves which it uses to control switching of thenaturally commutated switching devices of the positive and negativebanks.
 40. The generator system of claim 39 wherein the rotor positionsensor includes a plurality of rotor position sensors that generatesignals indicative of the position of the rotor that are displacedone-hundred and twenty degrees from each other.
 41. The generator systemof claim 40 wherein the plurality of rotor position sensors include halleffect transducers.
 42. The generator system of claim 40 wherein thecontroller generates a reference wave and generates firing signals forthe naturally commutated switching devices of the positive and negativebanks based on comparisons of the control waves to the reference wave.43. The generator system of claim 42 wherein the AC generator includesan engine and a brushless DC motor drive circuit coupled to the ACgenerator for driving the AC generator as a brushless DC motor to startthe engine, the rotor position sensors coupled to a brushless DC motorcontroller of the brushless DC motor drive circuit.
 44. The generatorsystem of claim 43 and further including a portable universal batterypack coupled to the brushless DC motor drive circuit that provides DCpower to the brushless DC motor drive circuit.
 45. The generator systemof claim 40 wherein the cycloconverter includes first and secondcycloconverters and for each cycloconverter the controller operates thepositive and negative banks of that cycloconverter in a non-circulatingmode, the controller enabling one of the positive and negative banks anddisabling the other of the positive and negative banks based on theinstantaneous output current of that cycloconverter.
 46. The generatorsystem of claim 45 wherein, for each cycloconverter, the controllerenables one of the positive and negative banks of that cycloconverterand disables the other of the positive and negative banks of thatcycloconverter based on the instantaneous output current of thatcycloconverter transitioning between positive and negative or betweennegative and positive wherein the controller enables one of the positiveand negative banks of that cycloconverter only after a true current zerocondition occurs at the output of that cycloconverter.
 47. The generatorsystem of claim 46 wherein for each cycloconverter the true zero currentcondition at the output of that cycloconverter is determined by acomparator determining that actual current output current of thatcycloconverter falls between first and second reference levels.
 48. Thegenerator system of claim 47 wherein the first and second referencelevels are +25 mA and −25 mA.
 49. The generator system of claim 46wherein the controller determines that the true zero current conditionat the output of one of the cycloconverters occurs by sensing that thepositive and negative banks are non-conducting.
 50. The generator systemof claim 49 wherein the controller sensing that the positive andnegative banks are non-conducting includes sensing that voltage acrosseach of the naturally commutated switching devices and sensing that thepositive and negative banks is above a predetermined level.
 51. Thegenerator system of claim 46 and further including a bandpass filter forfiltering the instantaneous output current of each cycloconverter toreduce current ripple and ensure that a signal output by the bandpassfilter at a fundamental frequency does not have any phase-shift relativeto the instantaneous output current, the signal output by the bandpassfilter coupled to an input of a comparator that generates a signalindicative of whether the instantaneous current output has transitionedfrom positive to negative or from negative to positive.
 52. Thegenerator system of claim 51 wherein the fundamental frequency is 60 Hz.53. The generator system of claim 40 wherein the controller simulatesback emf voltage waveforms of the generator using the rotor positionsignals and develops the control waves from the back emf voltagewaveforms.
 54. The generator system of claim 39 wherein the naturallycommutated switching devices include silicon controlled rectifiers. 55.The generator system of claim 39 wherein each naturally commutatedswitching device includes a silicon controlled rectifier/opto-siliconcontrolled rectifier combination.
 56. The generator system of claim 39wherein the cycloconverter includes first and second cycloconverters andthe controller includes a first controller for controlling the firstcycloconverter and a second controller for controlling the secondcycloconverter.
 57. The generator system of claim 39 wherein thecontroller simulates back emf voltage waveforms of the generator usingthe rotor position signal and develops the control waves from the backemf voltage waveforms.
 58. A generator system, comprising: an ACgenerator having an output coupled to a cycloconverter, thecycloconverter having a positive bank of naturally commutated switchingdevices and a negative bank of naturally commutated switching devices; acontroller coupled to the naturally commutated switching devices of thepositive and negative banks; the controller operating the positive andnegative banks in a non-circulating mode, the controller enabling one ofthe positive and negative banks and disabling the other of the positiveand negative banks based on the instantaneous output current of thecycloconverter; and a bandpass filter for filtering the instantaneousoutput current of the cycloconverter to reduce current ripple and ensurethat a signal output by the bandpass filter at a fundamental frequencydoes not have any phase shift relative to the instantaneous outputcurrent, the signal output by the band pass filter coupled to an inputof a comparator that generates a signal indicative of whether theinstantaneous output current has transitioned from positive to negativeor from negative to positive.
 59. The generator system of claim 58wherein the controller enables one of the positive and negative banksonly after it disables the other of the positive and negative banks andit senses that an output of the cycloconverter has passed through a truezero current condition, the controller sensing that the true zerocurrent condition at the output of the cycloconverter occurs when avoltage across each of the naturally commutated switching devices isabove a predetermined level indicating that each of the naturallycommutated switching devices is non-conducting.
 60. The generator systemof claim 58 wherein the fundamental frequency is 60 Hz.
 61. Thegenerator system of claim 58 wherein each naturally commutated switchingdevice includes a silicon controlled rectifier/opto-silicon controlledrectifier combination.
 62. A generator system, comprising: an ACgenerator having an output coupled to a cycloconverter, thecycloconverter having a positive bank of naturally commutated switchingdevices and a negative bank of naturally commutated switching devices;and each naturally commutated switching device including a siliconcontrolled rectifier/opto-silicon controlled rectifier combination. 63.A method of controlling a generator system having at least first andsecond modes where the generator system produces a first alternatingcurrent output voltage when it is in the first mode and produces thefirst output voltage and a second alternating current output voltagewhen it is in the second mode, the second output voltage twice the firstoutput voltage, comprising: coupling the outputs of the first and secondvoltage sources in parallel and operating the first and second voltagesources so that the voltages at the outputs of the first and secondvoltage sources are in phase when the generator system is in the firstmode; and coupling the outputs of the first and second voltage sourcesin series and operating the first and second voltage sources so that thevoltages at the outputs of the first and second voltage sources areone-hundred and eighty degrees out of phase when the generator system isin the second mode with the second output voltage produced across theseries coupled outputs of the first and second voltage sources and thefirst output voltage produced at each of the outputs of the first andsecond voltage sources.
 64. The method of claim 63 including generatingrotor position signals indicative of a position of a rotor of apermanent magnet generator and developing control waves from the rotorposition signals, and using the control waves to control first andsecond cycloconverters, the first cycloconverter coupled to a first setof windings of the permanent magnet generator and the secondcycloconverter coupled to a second set of windings of the permanentmagnet generator, the first cycloconverter having an output thatprovides the output of the first voltage source and the secondcycloconverter having an output that provides the output of the secondvoltage source.
 65. The method of claim 64 including generating areference wave, comparing the control waves to the reference wave, andcontrolling switching of naturally commutated switching devices of thefirst and second cycloconverters based on the comparisons of the controlwaves to the reference wave.
 66. The method of claim 65 whereingenerating the rotor position signal indicative of the position of therotor of the permanent magnet generator includes generating rotorposition signals that are displaced one-hundred and twenty degrees fromeach other.
 67. The method of claim 66 wherein generating the rotorposition signals includes generating them with hall effect transducers.68. The method of claim 64 wherein the generator system includes anengine for driving the permanent magnet generator, the method includingdriving at least one of the first and second sets of windings of thepermanent magnet generator with a brushless DC motor drive circuit todrive the permanent magnet generator as a brushless DC motor to startthe engine, a brushless DC motor controller of the brushless DC motordrive circuit using the rotor position signals in driving the permanentmagnet generator as a brushless DC motor.
 69. The method of claim 68further including using a portable universal battery pack coupled to thebrushless DC motor drive circuit to supply DC power to the brushless DCmotor drive circuit.
 70. The method of claim 64 wherein eachcycloconverter includes a positive and a negative bank of naturallycommutated switching devices, the method including operating thepositive and negative banks of each cycloconverter in a non-circulatingmode and enabling one of the positive and negative banks and disablingthe other of the positive and negative banks of each cycloconverterbased on the instantaneous output current of that cycloconvertertransitioning between positive and negative or between negative andpositive wherein the one of the positive and negative banks of one ofthe cycloconverter that is being enabled is enabled only after a truecurrent zero condition occurs at the output of that cycloconverter. 71.The method of claim 70 including determining that the true current zerocondition occurs at the output of one of the cycloconverters when all ofthe naturally commutated switching devices of that cycloconverter arenon-conducting.
 72. The method of claim 71 including sensing thevoltages across the naturally commutated switching devices of eachcycloconverter and determining that all the naturally commutatedswitching devices of one of the cycloconverters are non-conducting whenthe voltages across all of the naturally commutated switching devices ofthat cycloconverter are above a predetermined level.
 73. The method ofclaim 72 including bandpass filtering the instantaneous output currentof each of the cycloconverters to produce a filtered signal from thatinstantaneous output current to reduce current ripple and ensure that afundamental frequency component of each filtered signal does not haveany phase-shift relative to the instantaneous output current of thecycloconverter being filtered, and comparing each of filtered signals toat least one reference level to determine whether the instantaneousoutput current of the corresponding cycloconverter transitioned frompositive to negative or from negative to positive.
 74. The method ofclaim 73 wherein the reference level includes first and second referencelevels of +0.1A and −0.1A and the fundamental frequency is 60 Hz. 75.The method of claim 70 wherein a switch is coupled between the outputsof the first and second voltage sources, the method including: switchingthe generator system from the first mode to the second mode by firstopening the switch, then disabling the naturally commutated switchingdevices of the first and second cycloconverters so that they are allnon-conducting, and after a predetermined delay, reenabling thenaturally commutated switching devices of the first and secondcycloconverters and operating the first and second cycloconverters sothat the voltages produced at the outputs of the first and secondcycloconverters are one-hundred and eighty degrees out of phase witheach other, and switching the generator system from the second mode tothe first mode by disabling the naturally commutated switching devicesof one of the first and second cycloconverters, reenabling after apredetermined delay the naturally commutated switching devices that weredisabled and operating the first and second cycloconverters so that thevoltages produced at the outputs of the first and second cycloconvertersare in-phase, and then closing the switch.
 76. The method of claim 64including simulating back emf voltage waveforms of the generator usingthe rotor position signals and developing the control waves from theback emf waveforms.
 77. The method of claim 63 wherein coupling theoutputs of the first and second voltage sources in one of parallel andseries includes switching a single pole switch coupled across theoutputs of the first and second voltage sources open to couple theoutputs in series and closed to couple the outputs in parallel.
 78. Themethod of claim 77 wherein the single pole switch is a single polerelay.
 79. A method of controlling a generator system having an ACgenerator with an output coupled to a cycloconverter, the cycloconverterhaving a positive bank of naturally commutated switching devices and anegative bank of naturally commutated switching devices, the methodcomprising developing control waves based upon the position of a rotorof the AC generator and using the control waves to control switching ofthe naturally commutated switching devices.
 80. The method of claim 79wherein the generator system includes a plurality of rotor positionsensors that generate signals indicative of the position of the rotorthat are displaced one-hundred and twenty degrees from each other, themethod including using the rotor position signals to generate thecontrol waves.
 81. The method of claim 80 including generating areference wave, comparing the control waves to the reference wave andgenerating firing signals for the naturally commutated switching devicesbased on comparisons of the control waves to the reference wave.
 82. Themethod of claim 81 wherein the generator system includes an engine fordriving the AC generator, the method including driving the AC generatoras a brushless DC motor to start the engine and using the rotor positionsignals in doing so.
 83. The method of claim 82 and further Includingusing DC power of a portable universal battery of the generator systemin starting the engine.
 84. The method of claim 80 including operatingthe positive and negative banks of the cycloconverter in anon-circulating mode and enabling one of the positive and negative banksand disabling the other of the positive and negative banks based on theinstantaneous output current of the cycloconverter produced at an outputof the cycloconverter transitioning between positive and negative orbetween negative and positive wherein the one of the positive andnegative banks being enabled is enabled only after a true zero currentcondition occurs at the output of the cycloconverter.
 85. The method ofclaim 84 including determining that the true current condition occurswhen all of the naturally commutated switching devices arenon-conducting.
 86. The method of claim 85 including sensing thevoltages across the naturally commutated switching devices anddetermining that all the naturally commutated switching devices arenon-conducting when the voltages across all of the naturally commutatedswitching devices are above a predetermined level.
 87. The method ofclaim 86 including bandpass filtering the instantaneous output currentof the cycloconverter to produce a filtered signal to reduce currentripple and ensure that a fundamental frequency component of the filteredsignal does not have any phase-shift relative to the instantaneousoutput current, and comparing the filtered signal to at least onereference level to determine whether the instantaneous output currenttransitioned from positive to negative or from negative to positive. 88.The method of claim 87 wherein the reference level includes first andsecond reference levels of +0.1A and −0.1A.
 89. The method of claim 79including simulating back emf voltage waveforms of the generator basedupon the position of the rotor and developing the control waves based onthe back emf voltage waveforms.
 90. A method of controlling a generatorsystem having an AC generator with an output coupled to acycloconverter, the cycloconverter having a positive bank of naturallycommutated switching devices and a negative bank of naturally commutatedswitching devices, the method comprising operating the positive andnegative banks of the cycloconverter in a non-circulating mode andenabling one of the positive and negative banks and disabling the otherof the positive and negative banks based on the instantaneous outputcurrent of the cycloconverter produced at an output of thecycloconverter transitioning between positive and negative or betweennegative and positive, and bandpass filtering the instantaneous outputcurrent of the cycloconverter to produce a filtered signal to reducecurrent ripple and ensure that a fundamental frequency component of thefiltered signal does not have any phase-shift relative to theinstantaneous output current, and comparing the filtered signal to atleast one reference level to determine whether the instantaneous outputcurrent transitioned from positive to negative or from negative topositive.
 91. The method of claim 90 including enabling the one of thepositive and negative banks being enabled only after the other of thepositive and negative banks has been disabled and a true zero currentcondition occurs at the output of the cycloconverter.
 92. The method ofclaim 91 including determining that the true current condition occurswhen all of the naturally commutated switching devices arenon-conducting.
 93. The method of claim 92 including sensing thevoltages across the naturally commutated switching devices anddetermining that all the naturally commutated switching devices arenon-conducting when the voltages across all of the naturally commutatedswitching devices are above a predetermined level.
 94. The method ofclaim 90 wherein the fundamental frequency is 60 Hz.
 95. The method ofclaim 90 wherein the reference level includes first and second referencelevels of +0.1A and −0.1A.